Looking to get away and reconnect with nature? Cabin camping near Davis City is the perfect choice. Finding a place to cabin camp in Iowa is easier than ever. You're sure to find the perfect cabin rental for your Davis City camping adventure.
$12 / night
$15 - $22 / night
This recreation area is part of Rathbun Lake
At Singing Mesa Ranch, our goal is to be your favorite spot for horse boarding, camping and hitting the trails. Our focus is to create an inviting but small and quiet destination where family is welcome, folks respect each other and you can unwind. You don't have to have a horse to stay with us! Established in 2015, we have slowly built a small campground, opened our indoor stall barn, outdoor pens and uncovered paddocks to our campers and as a horse motel. We have a 60x90 insulated indoor arena, a heated stall barn with up to 8 stalls and a wash rack. We have 16 miles of maintained trails and acres of space to blaze your own path. In 2022, we added the outdoor arena which is 100x220 with cattle roping chutes and return. Looking for a travel stop while traveling through Iowa, we are 20 minutes East from I-35 at Osceola, 20 minutes South of Indianola and right on Hwy 65. Stop by with your camper or LQ and horses and stay the night with us. Our facilities are open year round.
$15 - $75 / night
Ranger
Nice city park campground close to lots of covered bridges and other things to see. The sites are pretty well spaced with lots of grass and some trees in between. It was a good value for full hookup sites. The bathroom was decent, and phone service was adequate. We just spent one night here on our way home from Colorado, but will be returning in the fall to explore more and see some colors.
Traveler
Pretty grounds with woodland coverage on all sides in addition to the lake. We visited in August and realized it was prime family vacation time before school starts up again, so a little crowded and noisy. Spots are pretty close together too. But the grounds are quite lovely and the facilities were super clean. We plan to go back when Autumn arrives, mid week. Bonus easy shore fishing access.
Scout
Facilities are available and very convenient and comfortable. Nice lake to swim and fish. Absolutely beautiful park and really nice trails. Thanks, Tina
ScoutWonderful setting and quiet place to stay. Beautiful views with quick access to Bridges of Madison County. Great hook ups and utilities!
TravelerFull hookups and easy to park, small spots but not too small. Shower and bath houses are clean.
Guide
There is a boat ramp, hiking trails, showers, and the ohv park is only 30 min away on the other side of the lake
GuideNice campsites. Full service.
GuideI just loved this campground. It has shade trees, grass, free showers and lots of room. It is part of a city park on the outskirts of Winterset. There is a dog park and one of the Bridges of Madison County is located within walking distance of the campground. This was well worth the 20 mile drive off I80. If I had known how m=nice this area was, I would have planned better and stayed here for more than one night.
Guide
No way to make day before reservations so we gambled and drove in. Van and bikes covered in fine white dust from road. Small lake but sites on hillside with no view. Clean bathrooms but noticed paid time showers were taped " out of order" morning of our departure so no showers for us. Very quiet and nice short hiking trail around lake. The 2 cabins face small pond and looked very nice.
Scout
Nice little campground 4.5 miles of the freeway...9 minutes away from a small town with stores that stay open till 9. A bait shop onsite, closes early. Most rv sites with power, walk in tent sites w/o. Rates are great $12/15. Showers and flush toilets onsite as well as cabin rentals, canoe rental and fire wood available. Downside is a lot of flying bugs...not really biting just annoying. The lake has a lot of fish in it I hear... Family friendly.
Guide
As tent campers we found a lot to love at Lake of Three Fires, but also found ourselves wanting more. It’s got a gorgeous lake, and some camping sites are out of this world, but it can be inconsistent and there’s not a lot to do.
Pros:
-While the electric hookup sites were full, primitive campers had their pick of the campground even during the middle of the summer. Plenty of open non-electric sites to choose from.
-Site 55 is an absolute GEM. Spacious and right on the water! We didn’t have any neighbors so it was like we had the whole place to ourselves.
-Good fishing at the lake, and plenty of quiet spots to fish from
-The lake is quiet and relatively calm
-Excellent (and clean!) modern bathrooms, by far the best we’ve encountered
Cons: -There’s not a lot to do other than fishing and hanging out by the campsite -The trails are quite poorly marked and seem to only have entry and exit points at each end of the point, so unless you want to commit to the full 8 miles, you’ll have to turn back at some point -The sites can be inconsistently sized. We found some tent sites that were less than half the size of our site, and they were packed like sardines. -A lot of the sites are sloped, so even ground can be hard to find. -The park is pretty rural, so if you need to make an emergency grocery or supplies run you might be out of luck. -No firewood on site, so you’ll have to come prepared or hope you can find some in town.
TravelerWe enjoyed a long weekend here reconnecting with friends. The campground is well maintained and has a camp host on site. The Shower/restrooms were clean and stocked. Firewood is available for 8$ a bundle. Sites are gravel base and fairly level. The city park has a edge maze that is unique. The John Wayne museum and downtown are a 20 minute walk away. This is our second visit there and I would go back again.
ScoutAlthough there were RVers and a nice group of Boy Scoutspaet of the time, there was no one else in our tent camping side. We had chilly weather, but marvelous views of the water with a rare flock of pelicans! Some of the trails were muddy, but there plenty of others to choose from. Red buds and flowers were starting to bring the forest to life.
All fire pits have an incredible grate system for cooking. There's an over abundance of limbs and twigs for firewood, although a saw would come in handy. Clean, quiet, and as beautiful as ever- that's our lake!
TravelerVery nice place, close to the lake. Beach at walking distance through the trail. Fishing area, two kid playgrounds and at around 15 minutes to any grocery stores and gas stations.
GuideWe will definitely return, we loved this park. The bridges of Madisin County, Clarke Tower, cute local ice cream shop, John Wayne Museum! So much fun in a cute Iowa community!
TravelerNicely maintained. Nice clean no-wake lake. Gets very quiet at 10:30 curfew. Clean showers/bathroom once the night bugs were cleared out.
ScoutWe love camping here with the whole family even though we are only 20 min from home.
TravelerThe bathrooms and showers were well kept. Was lucky and got a campsite under some shade, but quite a few weren't so lucky. Ended up with site 60, right in front of the showers and bathrooms, which was great but also sucked. As soon as the bathroom doors opened the fans came on, which late at night was kind of annoying. Firewood is not sold on the campground, so you can burn what's on the ground or head to Hyvee for some wood in town. Unfortunately we got there late the first day so Hyvee had just closed and we had to try to find sticks in the dark. There are no signs showing what numbers were in that area or to the beach area, bathrooms, or garbage so you just have to explore to find it. Also there are lots of deer in the area at all hours of the day, so keep an eye out for them when traveling to and from town,
Overall it was a great weekend and will probably be back. The only thing I really wish, was that the firepit be cleaned before we got to the site. We had to try and dig out all the burnt cans and foil with sticks.
ScoutWe camped in spot #20 of the north loop. I would not recommend any spot in the center second of the loop. It was more like parking than camping.
If we parked in the direction to utilize the full hookups we would have had our awning out over our neighbors campsite.
The state park has some nice trails for hiking. Use bug spray because the ticks are bad. Some nice views of the lake
GuideThis is the best State Park campground in SW Iowa, it has everything anyone needs...love it here and the views are beautiful!
Traveler
Took my son here last Spring. Cabins are very clean the bunks allowed for for four to sleep. Beautiful sunsets overlooking the lake. Fish cleaning station was also well taken care of. We had a great time catching small walleyes and sunnys. This location also made it easy to head over to twelvel mile lake and fish also. Everyone was very friendly.
GuideLovely park inside the city that makes you feel like you’re in the ozark mtns, with a surprise!
GuideNice park, a little run down, but there's a new park ranger in town who is trying to fix it up. New rental cabin almost finished, clean beach, boat ramp and fishing. Clean spacious bathrooms, nice playground for the kids and a really cool equestrian section. No store, no wood so get what you need before you get here.
TravelerHad a blast here. Small, quiet place. We were the only campers.
TravelerThis campground ovvers a lot of shaded with trees hookup sutes and beautiful grassy non hookup sites. Frisbee golf course, playground, horse shoe pits and samdy heach area groomed daily. No wake lake perfect for fishing, canoeing and kayaking. Clean well-kept shower and bath buidling as well. Horse area for those who bring horses for the ridiing trails.
GuideThere is a legend about how the Lake of 3 Fires got its name. The legend says that the “Fire Nation”, which was a local Pottawatomi tribe, lived in the area around Southwest Iowa. Later 2 other tribes decided to join the “Fire Nation” and the 3 became known as “Three Fires”. The Tribes burned 3 fires atop hills to signify that as long as the 3 fires were burning the tribes were together. Now on the spot where the fires burned, is said to be the Iowa State Park “Lake of 3 Fires”
Located in Southwest Iowa just north of the county seat of Bedford Iowa, is a little hidden treasure for outdoor enthusiasts and campers. When looking for a campground everyone has an opinion on what amenities and activities they want- fishing, hiking, boating, and horseback riding are some of the more popular choices and the Lake of Three Fires has all these and more. The actual lake is only 85 acres but has excellent fishing and is surrounded by 691 acres of beautiful trees with hiking and equestrian trails, fishing jetties and a sandy beach.
For those who are planning more than a day trip to the Lake of 3 Fires there are several options available. Located only a very short walk from the Lake are two modern campgrounds nestled in trees. There are over 100 site options for campers. For the RV or trailer enthusiasts there are 24 standard electric sites and 63 non-electric sites, plus 3 buddy sites. In addition, there are 23 equestrian sites (some electrical) and 1 equestrian buddy site along with plenty of holding stalls and tie outs for horses. They are located just east of the main camping grounds but still close enough to walk down to the lake. There are nice clean restroom and shower facilities, children’s play areas and a trailer dump station. Some of the campsites have also been made handicap accessible.
For those families who don’t have a camper or RV but want to experience camping at the Lake of 3 fires there are 6 family cabins which can accommodate 4- 6 people. They are heated and cooled with the basic essentials- stove, microwave and refrigerator. There are also open shelters and a youth group area that offer a place to rent for large group gatherings. There are picnic areas available that are first come first serve. There are plenty of tables and grills if you are just making a day trip but camping is the way to go at the Lake of 3 Fires so you have time to experience everything.
Many of the camp sites, cabins and shelters are available to reserve online at the Department of Natural Resources website- however there are some that are first come first serve. It is very convenient and easy to reserve your spot online. Highly recommended if you plan on traveling any distance- a guaranteed spot of your choice is worth the few minutes it takes to go online and reserve. You can even look at a map of the campsites and pick where you want your site to be. You can see not only where your site will be but it tells you the electrical voltage, the length and other important information about the site you are choosing.
The camp sites are kept clean, well maintained and are big enough you don’t feel like you are right on top of your neighbor. The bathhouses are centrally located in the campground and offer clean bathroom and shower facilities for campers.
Once you have your camper set and are ready to enjoy your weekend it will be hard to decide where to start. The Lake itself offers many activities. There are 2 boat ramps if you want to go out on the ‘no wake” lake. There are plenty of fish to be caught including bluegill, largemouth bass and channel catfish. If you don’t have a license to fish you can run into town and pick one up at the courthouse or the Bedford Country Store located right on Hwy 2, very easy to find! There is a dock where you can fish and it also has a cleaning station also available. There are several fishing jetties where you can take a chair and set up to find the perfect spot. From your spot on the lake you might catch a glimpse of some people enjoying a beautiful day on the lake on their canoes or kayaks.
For the hunters, there is a 220 acre public hunting ground to the north and 160 acres to the south. You would of course want to check with the DNR for hunting and gaming regulations.
Not into hunting and fishing? Prefer something a bit more relaxing? Well head down to the beach area which is just a short walk from the camp grounds. There you find a small but very nice beach area for swimming. Not in the mood to swim? Then grab some friends for a game of sand volleyball or perhaps pitch horseshoes. The beach area is perfect place to relax with a good book or play some games with friends. The best part is to get there from the campgrounds you take a beautiful short scenic walk.
Perhaps one of the best parts about the Lake of 3 Fires is the 10 miles of trails the intertwine around the entire Lake. There are some specific trails for hiking but some others that offer horseback riders an amazing view of the lake. The great thing about the trails is how they snake around each other- you could discover a new path every time you go. The trials are nicely marked with “you are here “maps so you don’t get lost. There are beautiful views of the Lake from the far side where you can see clear across to the campgrounds. In the winter after a good snow, they say snow mobiles can also use the trails.
Bedford is only a few miles away so you can run into the local Hy-Vee for Groceries or stop by Dollar General if you forgot something. There are 2 gas stations in town as well that both have pizza, drinks and snacks if you need to stock up.
Getting to the Lake of 3 Fires isn’t hard at all From Bedford just go east out of town for about 1/2 mile on Hwy 2. Then turn north on Lake Road, keep going for about 3 miles and Lake of Three Fires is located on the west side. The roads are a bit windy but everything is paved including the main roads of the park. For a short weekend getaway of a weeklong camping adventure, the Lake of 3 Fires has plenty to offer everyone in your camping group.
RangerCampsite was pretty packed on a Saturday night in late September. We didn't have a reservation but was able to get one of the last tent sites available. Nice spot, fire pits have nice swinging grates on them. There was a picnic table at our spot as well. Great view of the lake from here. We were in Campsite 092. Only drawback is that there must be a cow farm somewhere to the south as you will hear cows mooing all night at this campground.
Camping near Davis City, Iowa, offers a mix of beautiful parks and campgrounds that cater to different tastes and needs. Whether you're looking for a quiet getaway or a family-friendly spot, there are plenty of options to explore.
Camping near Davis City, Iowa, has something for everyone, whether you're a family looking for fun or an RV traveler seeking peace and quiet.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular cabin campsite near Davis City, IA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular cabin campground near Davis City, IA is Nine Eagles State Park with a 4.2-star rating from 6 reviews.
What is the best site to find cabin camping near Davis City, IA?
TheDyrt.com has all 10 cabin camping locations near Davis City, IA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
